Trial lawyers speak out on Senate self-driving car bill

AV NON-STARTER: After being mum for months, the American Association for Justice said publicly Thursday that it has been pressing for the Senate’s self-driving car bill, S. 1885 (115), to stipulate that companies can’t force arbitration, our Tanya Snyder reports for Pros. The trial lawyers group is calling for a provision to make sure “when a person, whether a passenger or pedestrian, is injured or killed by a driverless car, that person or their family is not forced into a secret arbitration proceeding,” according to a statement. Senate Commerce Chairman John Thune (R-S.D.) has said that arbitration has been “a thorny spot” in bill negotiations.

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BACK IT UP: NHTSA on Thursday proposed to freeze fuel economy standards for light-duty trucks and cars, Pro Energy’s Alex Guillén reports. And the EPA is looking to roll back greenhouse gas emissions standards and rescind a waiver that has let California impose tougher, state-level rules. “Although the auto industry has called on the Trump administration to ease the aggressive Obama targets, it also wants the Trump administration to continue to tighten fuel economy standards in the coming years, and to avoid a schism with California that would threaten a single national standard,” Alex writes. Twelve states have adopted California’s rules.

Ready for a fight: Gov. Jerry Brown said his state would “fight this stupidity in every conceivable way possible.” But Bill Wehrum, the EPA’s assistant administrator of the office of air and radiation, argued that the Clean Air Act wasn’t intended to provide special consideration to deal with greenhouse gases, but rather to take on “conventional pollutants,” which create smog. “We have proposed to find there’s no compelling or extraordinary circumstance there and no justification for California to have its own standards,” Wehrum said.

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A LIFESAVER? NHTSA asserts that a freeze on fuel efficiency standards would prevent thousands of traffic deaths. “The proposal argues that consumers are less likely to purchase newer, safer cars if efficiency rules increase the up-front costs; that people who do buy more efficient vehicles are likely to drive them more often; and that more fuel efficient cars are potentially less safe because they are typically smaller and lighter, making them less protective to passengers in a crash,” Alex reports. But some are questioning NHTSA’s logic. Thune said in a statement that the Trump administration’s plan “offers the public an important opportunity to consider new information about the safety realities of smaller and lighter vehicles in collisions.”

PREPPING FOR TAKEOFF: The FAA will host an aviation workforce symposium Sept. 13 at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport to bring the industry together to discuss how to draw more young people into piloting careers and improve training quality, acting FAA Administrator Dan Elwell said Thursday. “I know this is a topic that a lot of people care about. And I’m sure there’s going to be a lot of passionate discussions,” he said at the Air Line Pilots Association’s Air Safety Forum. “I welcome it. This is a conversation we need to have as a community, because the importance of pilot qualifications can’t be overstated.”

One more time, with feeling: It’s still FAA’s position to maintain the 1,500-hour pilot training requirement for first officers unless Congress amends the law, Elwell said afterward. “People like to tie the 1,500-hour rule to the shortage [of pilots] — it’s a complication ... to it, but it’s not the cause of it,” he said. “And, in fact, if the 1,500-hour rule went away, you would still have a pilot supply issue.” Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said in June that it would be “very hard” for the department to tweak the rule “until the Congress advises us otherwise” — remarks that drew the ire of the New York delegation, which has fiercely defended the requirement put in place after a fatal plane crash near Buffalo, N.Y., in 2009.

Safety first: During his address, Elwell talked up the aviation industry’s safety culture and the gains it’s made in slashing the percentage of commercial airline fatalities thanks to regulators, airlines, manufacturers and others collaborating and communicating when safety concerns arise. But enforcement tools remain at the agency’s disposal, he said. “Voluntary reporting isn’t some kind of get-out-of-jail-free card,” Elwell said. “When we find intentionally reckless behavior, flagrant violations or simply a refusal to comply with corrective actions, we levy fines and take legal actions — even revoke a company’s ability to operate. But that’s extremely rare.”

NOBODY HURT IN AMTRAK DERAILMENT: An engine derailed Thursday as an Amtrak train was nearing Union Station in Washington, D.C., at low speed, the railroad tweeted. After the engine was removed, the train took passengers into the station. No one reported injuries.

MT MAILBAG: The top Democrats on the House Transportation and Homeland Security panels wrote to TSA on Thursday about a CNN report that the agency was looking at ending passenger screenings at smaller airports. “While it is important for TSA to discuss operational efficiencies as part of its yearly budget process, we believe that strengthening and improving the security of our nation’s aviation transportation system — not cutting essential, life-saving screening — is of paramount importance,” Peter DeFazio (Ore.) and Bennie Thompson (Miss.) wrote. “Instead of cutting screening at these airports, TSA should request that Congress redirect all passenger security fees to TSA.” Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) also sent off a letter to the agency Thursday.

ICYMI: President Donald Trump on Thursday signed a bill, H.R. 5729 (115), stopping the Coast Guard, at least for now, from executing a rule mandating biometric readers for transportation worker ID cards.

MT INFLUENCE: Texans Against High Speed Rail hired Fourth Street Advocacy’s Andrew Nehring to lobby on issues related to a potential high-speed rail line between Dallas and Houston. Sonoran Policy Group and Capitol Pathfinders also lobby for the group.

SHIFTING GEARS: Scooter company Bird said Thursday that former NHTSA administrator David Strickland will head up a safety advisory group it's creating.

A TWEET TO END THE WEEK: From CQ’s Jacob Fischler: “John Joyce, the near-certain next member from Bill Shuster's district (now PA-13, which encompasses most of Shuster's old PA-9) has a strong difference of opinion with the outgoing T&I chairman about the gas tax.” Spoiler: Joyce says the “one thing I cannot support is increasing the gas tax.”

About The Author : Brianna Gurciullo

Brianna Gurciullo is a transportation reporter for POLITICO Pro. Before joining the transportation team, she was an intern at POLITICO, working with POLITICO Influence, breaking news and POLITICO Magazine.

Brianna previously interned with Hearst, the Center for Responsive Politics and The Chicago Tribune. She was also a 2015 fellow for investigative reporting initiative News21. An alumna of the George Washington University, Brianna served as editor in chief of The GW Hatchet.